‘I am Japan’s Kang Youwei, You are China’s Inukai Tsuyoshi’: A Case of Idealism in Sino-Japanese Relations at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

Abstract

This article examines the interactions between Kang Youwei and Inukai Tsuyoshi around the time of Kang’s first sojourn in Japan (1898--98). By presenting a translation of an unexamined poetic work by Kang Youwei, “Mutangji,” it highlights an attempt to foster cooperative Sino-Japanese ties based on Confucian values. It thus reveals a philosophical basis for Inukai Tsuyoshi’s involvement with China, and raises the question of whether a more idealist, rather than purely strategic, Sino-Japanese alliance held potential for success in the prewar period.